The R44 is a passive, side address ribbon microphone with a bidirectional (or figure-of-8) pickup pattern. It was designed to be a part-for-part replica of the RCA R44 series, with the exception of using neodymium rather than alnico magnets. Everything else, including the 1.8 ...The R44 is a passive, side address ribbon microphone with a bidirectional (or figure-of-8) pickup pattern.
It was designed to be a part-for-part replica of the RCA R44 series, with the exception of using neodymium rather than alnico magnets. Everything else, including the 1.8 micron thick ribbon tuned to 16.5 Hz and the 1:28 transformer honors the legacy of this microphone. The versatile R44 gives modern engineers access to the vintage ribbon sound that RCA pioneered.
With its healthy low end, smooth and articulate midrange, detailed high end, and lack of uncomfortable resonances, the R44 is perfect for a variety of applications. Common applications are vocals, strings, woodwinds, brass, guitars, and even far-field drum recording, but the R44s smooth musicality is perfect for nearly any recording situation. The microphone's responsiveness to proximity effect allows the engineer to “fix it in the mic” by moving the microphone forward or backward to create the ideal low end response.
Whether used on vocals or instruments, the R44s performance is warm, intimate, and accurate to the performance.